


Marry Me

by Hatter_and_his_tea



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:21:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27680006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hatter_and_his_tea/pseuds/Hatter_and_his_tea
Summary: Tifa was asked the 'question', just by someone she didn't want. Post AC. One Shot.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Comments: 2
Kudos: 49





	Marry Me

**Author's Note:**

> First fic in the fandom. Long time Final Fantasy fan.  
> Having finished FF7R recently, I went back obsessed with the two of them.  
> Hopefully you will enjoyed this one shot story.

“Tifa, will you please marry me!?”

It was a question most girls longed to hear, including her, at least once upon a time. She just wished it didn’t come from a drunk patron. 

Taken aback, Tifa wiped the glass in her hands longer than usual. She kept quiet as the man continued his rambles. 

“I swear I will make you happy!” He exclaimed, banging on the wooden counter. “At least better than that good-for-nothing-man!!!” He continued with much excitement, spilling his drinks all over the wooden table. 

All eyes were on them, again..

“There, there…” Tifa finally replied, taking the spilled glass out of the man’s hand. “I think you have enough for the night.” She continued, using her bartender smile to persuade the customer.

The man looked at her with those wide eyes, full of hope and desperation, when she noticed the presence of that ‘good-for-nothing’ man.

“Well…” Tifa sighed with a slight pout on her face. “I believe that the least good-for-nothing-man can do is to take you home, safe and sound! Can’t you… Cloud?” She asked with a wide smile, switching her glance to that blond man with spiky hair standing behind the drunk man.

The man, noticing the presence of the former SOLDIER, cursed. “Shit…”

“Come on now.” Cloud told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He swiftly forced the man to get up from his seat and to lean on him. 

As they both stood and ready to exit the bar, Tifa gave him the piece of paper containing the man’s address.

“Here.” Tifa said. “He lives just around the corner. Be nice to him.” She added with a wide smile. 

Cloud took the piece of paper and made his way towards the exit, ignoring the other customers’ prying eyes. As he exited the bar, the door closed behind him and loud cheers erupted from inside the bar. 

The former SOLDIER shrugged it off and checked the piece of paper that Tifa gave him before heading to the direction of the man’s house.

“You’re a lucky piece of shit…” The man mumbled. Despite barely able to walk, he kept muttering angrily. “To have such a girl waiting for you to come home… I would give everything to have that… I-I would marry her in an instant!!” He shouted while shaking his fist to the air for more dramatic effect.

Cloud could only groan while carrying the man on his shoulder. He was thankful, although concerned at the same time, that it didn’t take him long to drop the drunk man at his home. The man really did live just around the corner. 

The house was small with grey coloured walls cracking and barely holding up. The lights were all off. 

“Hey, we're here.” Cloud said coldly, shaking the man who appeared to doze off.

“Yea yea…” The man replied grudgingly, hand inside his pocket. He soon produced the house key. “Don’t let her go…” He mumbled again as he let go of Cloud to open his front door. 

As the door creaked open, Cloud caught a glimpse of the inside, noticing the empty bottles laying around. 

“...Like I did…” The man mumbled one last time before disappearing behind the closed door.

Cloud heard the lock click before turning around to make his way back to the bar. He arrived just in time to see the last patron leave.

“Thanks for the good work.” Tifa greeted him as he entered Seventh Heaven for the second time in the night. She was wiping one of the tables in the bar. 

“Nothing to it.” He replied, moving closer. “Here, let me do it.” Cloud told her, offering to help.

He grabbed the wet towel from her and proceeded to wipe the sticky table.

“Thanks.” Tifa said with a wide smile before moving behind the counter. “You must be hungry. There is still some leftover for tonight. I’ll prepare it while you wipe those tables down.”

“Aaa…” Cloud nodded.

He soon wiped all of the tables and grabbed the nearby broom to clear all the rubbish on the floor when Tifa called him over. 

A plate full of warm food was ready on the counter.

“Thanks for the food.” He said as he sat down on the bar stool.

Tifa stood in front of him, behind the counter, watching him eat. 

“You know… he’s not a bad guy.” She began to tell him, afraid that the former SOLDIER would have a grudge on the man for calling him a good-for-nothing. “He just lost people close to him... like us…” Tifa continued. Her tone went down slightly before smirking about the proposal. “The ‘marry me’ was obviously a joke as well. It’s not as if it could work anyway, having a third man in our life.”

Despite Tifa’s laugh and lighter tone, Cloud couldn’t shake the uneasiness. He was actually taken aback when he heard the man’s proposal. Joke or not, he didn’t like it. 

“Don’t worry about it.” He said as he finished the last bit of food. 

Tifa quickly took the plate away and put it in the sink, among the other dirty plates and glass.

“Go wash up. I can finish up here by myself.”

“Aaa…” Cloud nodded, standing up from his seat. 

As he made his way to the stair, he looked back towards the woman standing by herself. 

“Good night, Tifa.” He said, clenching his fists. 

  
  


….

  
  


“You know she has nightmares still.” Denzel told him as the three of them sat down for a meal in a small cafe overlooking a great lake. 

It was a quick errand to the neighbourhood town with a relatively safe road and great view of the lake created because of the meteor. 

Both he and Tifa thought it would be a good idea to bring Denzel and Marlene for a change of scenery. Didn’t help that Marlene heard about the cafe’s special sandwiches. 

“We could hear her sometimes in the middle of the night, crying, apologizing, over and over again.” Marlene added before taking another bite of her sandwich.

Cloud sat there silently, eyeing the great lake. He knew he was partly at fault. He ran away, thinking it was for a better, forgetting about the others and Tifa.

“Do you love her?” Denzel suddenly asked, catching him off-guard for the second time in the week.

“I-...” He stuttered, unexpectedly lost at words. 

As the children stared at him, Cloud quickly diverted the question. “Finish up soon. We should get going.” He told them. 

The children just sighed and went back to eat their food.

“The sandwich is to die for.” Marlene quipped.

  
  


…

  
  


Tifa was content, or at least she thought she was, until the topic of marriage was brought up again by a gossiping neighbour who came to visit her.

“Yes… we are not married.”

“But those are your kids?” The older woman asked.

“Aaa.. well, yes. Marlene lost her real parents and was brought up by a close friend of mine. While Denzel… Cloud found him and brought him back to us.”

“And you and Cloud are not related?”

“No.” She replied firmly. “We are… childhood friends…” She explained with a slight pause. It was the same explanation she always gave to people asking about them. 

_ Just friends with some past... _

The older woman appeared to be confused and not satisfied by the answer. 

“Childhood friends… raising two kids… and yet not in a relationship?”

“Yes, that’s us.” Tifa said with a soft smile. 

_ Although, maybe, we could call it a relationship, just not ‘that’ relationship? _ Tifa thought to herself, thinking of her makeshift family and the connection between them. 

She handed the older woman another glass and poured her Seventh Heaven’s speciality wine from Barret’s hometown.

“Then… you are fine with him bringing another girl home?” The woman suddenly asked, causing Tifa to spill the wine. The red coloured liquid quickly flowed freely on the wooden counter

“I’m sorry… I’ll clean it right up.” Tifa quickly said, panicking. She grabbed the nearest wet towel and wiped the spilled liquid.

The woman smirked. “You should think about that, dear.” She said before sipping her drinks and watched Tifa frantically clean the mess.

With the table dry, Tifa brought the dirty towel to the sink to wash them. The once white coloured cloth was drenched in red. As water ran through it, she thought of the past.

“I guess… if that happened, I’ll carry on my own.” She said with a smile. “It has happened before, he had someone else in his mind.”

“Oh-“ The woman said, intrigued. “Then?”

“She… was killed…” Tifa whispered, looking down on the running water. “To save us all, she sacrificed herself. We even made a promise back then to go shopping together… and Cloud… he blamed it all on himself. Even though we were all there too, unable to help.”

The water continued to run as Tifa tried his best to wash all of the red coloured liquid from her hands. 

“But… that is that…” She continued with a weak smile, squeezing the excess water out of the towel before putting it on the drying rack and turning off the water. “I don’t want to force things on people anymore.”

Not soon after, the bar’s front door opened. 

“We are home!” Marlene happily announced their presence loudly. 

“Welcome back.” Tifa said. Her eyes shifted from the children the country boy who grew up to be a hero.

  
  


….

  
  


He put down the phone after writing down the last detail for his next delivery. It would be another long and difficult one, almost half a continent away from him, causing him to consider calling Cid for a faster journey.

He heard footsteps and noticed the familiar presence near him. 

“Maybe I should have promised you to marry me as well, back then...” Tifa suddenly told him. 

Cloud quickly turned his back around to see her standing by the doorway.

Her smile was there. “Just kidding.” She then added with a laugh before continuing. “Dinner is ready. Come eat with the kids.” 

“Oo ok, thanks.” Cloud replied, folding back the map on the table.

“All good?” Tifa asked about the upcoming job.

“Should be... I’ve finalized the road and it shouldn’t be too bad with the amount of items they want me to take.”

“I see…” Tifa said, her eyes were looking on the large number of receipts on the table. “Well... be safe. I’ll finish up in the bar before joining you guys.”

Cloud watched her leave the room and heard the footsteps on the stairways as Tifa headed back to the bar, where the crowds were waiting for her. 

“You better do something…” Denzel told him. The kid was standing in the next room, watching him. 

“Go and eat, I’ll join after this.” He told them, sighing out loud.

  
  


…

  
  


He loves her, right?

Cloud thought back to his childhood, to the isolation and loneliness he felt due to his difficulty in communicating with the others. All he wanted back then was to be close with Tifa, to be noticed by her that he decided to be a SOLDIER, and now, after what they’ve been through, all those hardships, fighting together…

He felt it too, the way she looked at him, and instead of accepting it… he ran away, afraid.

“Tifa, will you marry me!?” 

Cloud heard that question again. His eyes quickly focussed on the dark haired woman standing behind the counter, like she usually does.

It was that man again, proposing to Tifa for the second time, but this time they were holding hands, and he could see Tifa’s mouth widening with a smile.

“Yes, I will marry you.” She said, accepting the proposal.

“W-Wait!?” Cloud blurted out, dumb founded.

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing and quickly tried to reach them, but the more he walked towards them, the more they drifted away from him.

“Tifa!!” He called out instead, heart racing as darkness surrounded him. “Tifa!” Cloud called out the name again and again. He watched the two figures moving closer towards each other, and for a second, he saw Tifa’s eyes darting towards him.

When he opened his eyes, the former SOLDIER was covered in cold sweat. His head landed on the hard wooden floor while half of his body stayed on the thin mattress bed.

Harsh wind beat against the inn’s wall, the only lodging available in the small town. Gathering himself, he looked outside through the barred window, noticing the darkness and the flickering street lamps. 

His heart continued to pound loudly, thinking back to his dreams.

“I need to go back...” He told himself as he stood up and reached for his sword. 

  
  


…

  
  


The bar was packed with the regulars, all chatting and drinking happily. It was another busy night for Tifa. 

“Spiky boy off for another delivery?” Barret asked, having recently returned from his own trip. His large figure filled the already compact bar. 

“Yep.” Tifa nodded with a smile and handed the man another serve. “He should be back in 2 days. The town is on the other side after all, and with the recent earthquake, the normal road is unuseable.”

“Hgn!” Barret shrugged it out and finished the new drink in one sip. He was about to open his mouth again when Tifa stopped him.

“Don’t.” She quickly said, shaking his head. “People need him. He needs this too. It’s good for him to be on the job.”

“Is it good for you though?” Barret asked, his eyes were full of worries. 

Tifa gave him another smile.

“I’m fine. He’s picking up his call and he’s coming home. That’s all that matters. I have Marlene and Denzel anyway.” She continued. 

Tifa switched the conversation after, asking her oldest friend about his trip and whether he would stay longer this time, for Marlene’s sake.

“Leave him, Tifa!” A voice suddenly cut through their conversation. 

It was that man again, drunk and wobbling towards her.

“Leave him… I meant it… I won’t let you go this time!!” The man mumbled, tears were running down his eyes.

“Who’s this guy?” Barret asked, concerned. 

“Just a regular.” Tifa said, answering the question when the man grabbed onto her hands.

With two hands under his grip, the man asked the question again. “Marry me! Marry me, Tifa!!” He pleaded. 

All eyes were on them, again…

Tifa tried to pry her hands off the man nicely, but the grip was tight and starting to hurt her. Just as she opened his mouth to decline the second proposal, another set of hands joined on top. 

“No.” Cloud told the man, dead serious. He quickly separated the man’ hands off Tifa by force. 

Without another word, the drunk man understood and left the bar, broken hearted. 

“Cloud?” Tifa called out in surprise. “What are you doing here? How about your delivery? You shouldn’t be back for another 2 days.” She rambled, confused. 

The former SOLDIER released his grip on her hands and pointed towards the sky. “It’s done and I called in a favour...” He said. 

The whirring sounds of the engine became clearer. 

Tifa blinked her eyes a couple of times, confused. She was taken aback again when Cloud suddenly called her by her full name. 

“Tifa Lockhart!” 

“Y-yes?” She replied, stuttering. 

“Ma-Marry me...” Cloud said, short and simple, and slightly lowered in tone.

Tifa looked at her childhood friend, and who grew to be more than that. Although his eyes were no longer the same, he was still the same Cloud.

“O-Ok…” She answered, blushing bright red. 

“G-good…” Cloud replied with a face as red as her. He was losing his usual cool demeanor. 

They stood silently for a while with no one in the bar making any noise, until a strong force patted both of them on the back. 

“ABOUT TIME!!” Barret shouted out loud with a big grin on his face. Tifa had completely forgotten about his presence. 

The crowds soon erupted with laughter and celebration. 

Cloud didn’t remember much after that. He was forced to drink by the other patrons as a relief for their own heartache. Cid was also there, enjoying rounds of drinks that Barret kept bringing and forcing the former SOLDIER to drink. 

By the time he came into, with a massive headache, he saw Tifa smiling at him. She was holding his hands and gripping it tightly. 

“Welcome home.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading.  
> Kudos or Comments are appreciated.
> 
> Also I love dorky Cloud the most.


End file.
